[Harvey Specter]

Ryan "Whitey" Richards


Sean Murphy


VANCOUVER — Two young drug dealers working for the Red Scorpion gang have been confirmed as the victims found killed in Abbotsford just nine hours apart this week.

Sean (Smurph) Murphy, 21, was gunned down in a targeted hit Monday night as he sat in his car at Bateman Park. His friend, 19-year-old Ryan (Whitey) Richards, was killed a few hours later and his body was found off the Trans-Canada Highway on the Abbotsford-Chilliwack boundary.

Const. Casey Vinet of the Abbotsford police said Wednesday that investigators were still looking at whether the cases are connected in any way.

But The Vancouver Sun has learned that both Murphy and Richards were part of a front-line drug crew for the Red Scorpions.

They are both listed as Facebook friends of Steve Ahuja, whose relative Sunny is a close associate of the notorious Bacon brothers, all big players in the RS. Sunny was charged along with middle Bacon brother Jarrod with attempted murder after two men were shot in January 2004. The charges were later stayed when the victims refused to cooperate.

The Ahuja family home was targeted on March 11 in a drive-by shooting and last summer, 17-year-old Jose Buxton was shot to death in the same house at 4026 Brisbane Court, though charges against a youth were later stayed.

Murphy was found slumped over the steering wheel of his car about 10:30 p.m. Monday, while Richards was found in a grassy field about 7 a.m. Tuesday in the 39000 block of No. 3 Road beside the Yellow Barn produce store.

Murphy was shot to death. Richards’ cause of death won’t be finalized until an autopsy is done.

“Police believe these homicides are not random and that there is a strong possibility the victims’ own criminal lifestyles led to their deaths,” Vinet said.

Murphy got a nine-month conditional sentence a year ago in Abbotsford Provincial Court after being found guilty of possession for the purposes of trafficking. He signed a year-long peace bond in the summer of 2007 after being charged with one count of “fear of injury.”

A warrant for Richards’ arrest was issued last week after he was convicted in January of possession for the purpose of trafficking. He was on probation at the time of his death on an assault conviction from last summer.

An associate of both young men was warned last week by the B.C. Integrated Gang Task Force that he had been targeted for death by a rival gang.

Sgt. Shinder Kirk said the task force has continued to visit gangsters to complete “duties to warn” — a legal obligation if police have specific information about threats to individuals.

“We have done numerous duties to warn not only in the last couple of months related to the recent gang conflict, but previously related to other cases as well,” Kirk said Wednesday.

Jonathan, Jarrod and Jamie Bacon, along with associate Dennis Karbovanec, have also been the subject of public police warnings because of the risk of associating with them since the rival United Nations gang waged a high-profile war against them last May.

The two latest cases are being investigated by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. Anyone with information is asked to contact the IHIT Tip line at 1-877-543-9217 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

kbolan@vancouversun.com
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Abb...445/story.html

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